He never planned on a career in retail.

Growing up in Sydney as one of seven children, Stephen was more interested in music than school and dreamed of becoming an audio engineer. When that didn't work out, he fell almost accidentally into the Myer Grace Bros trainee management program — beginning a remarkable 40-year career in retail.

After 12 years at Myer, Stephen joined Nike, where he spent seven years in senior retail operations roles across Asia Pacific and the United States and helped open NIKETOWN Melbourne — the first NIKETOWN outside North America.

He went on to run Sunglass Hut's Australasian operations for Luxottica before becoming CEO of Jeanswest.

Then, in 2011, Stephen made the leap from corporate executive to entrepreneur, co-founding Retail Prodigy Group with former Nike Global Retail Director Charlie Baker.

Starting with the licence to operate Nike stores across Australia and New Zealand, RPG grew into a significant retail operation representing brands including Nike, Samsung, TOMS, Timbuk2 and Mattel. Stephen talks about raising the capital required to fund an ambitious store rollout, managing relationships with some of the world's biggest brands, building culture and leadership capability, and navigating the extraordinary disruption caused by online retail and COVID.

In 2024, Stephen sold Retail Prodigy Group and brought his four-decade retail career to a close.

But that's where the story comes full circle.

More than 40 years after first wanting to become an audio engineer, Stephen returned to his passion for music, launching Sabre Sound Studio with legendary Australian audio engineer Ern Rose, whose credits include John Farnham's Whispering Jack, The Angels and Little River Band.

In this episode, Stephen and I discuss:

• His accidental entry into retail and 12 years at Myer
• What working inside Nike taught him about world-class retail
• Opening the first NIKETOWN outside North America
• His first CEO role at Jeanswest
• Building Retail Prodigy Group
• Raising capital and building a multi-brand licensed retail business
• The challenges of leading bricks-and-mortar retail through enormous disruption
• Why he decided to sell RPG in 2024
• The biggest business and leadership lessons from his 40-year career
• Why he finally returned to his teenage ambition of working in music
• Building Sabre Sound Studio with Ern Rose
• The lessons he learned in business that nearly broke him

It’s a fascinating conversation about retail, entrepreneurship, leadership, reinvention — and ultimately finding your way back to where you wanted to be in the first place.

Contact:

Website: Jameshstewart.com

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-h-stewart-gaicd-83b46a9

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatilearnedinbusiness

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_WgwbOVsSuzuvXEgqNTl4g

Sabre Sound studio: https://sabresoundstudio.com.au

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guest and are provided for general information and discussion purposes only. They should not be relied upon as financial, investment, legal or business advice. Listeners should obtain their own independent professional advice before making any business, financial or investment decisions.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when you spend 15 years building a business, take it public—and then find yourself leading it into voluntary administration as COVID hit?

Eric Morris has experienced almost every stage of the business lifecycle.

In this episode James H Stewart sits down with one of Australia's most experienced retail executives and advisers for a candid conversation about building businesses, acquisitions, private equity, leadership under pressure and what really happens when a company enters voluntary administration.

Eric's career spans more than three decades in retail and consumer products. After working internationally with Reebok and Disney Consumer Products, he joined Myer, where he helped build its private-label business.

In 2005, Eric founded The PAS Group with private equity backing and embarked on an ambitious buy-and-build strategy. PAS assembled a portfolio that included brands and businesses such as Review, Black Pepper, Yarra Trail, Marco Polo, Metalicus, JETS and Designworks, before listing on the ASX in 2014.

Then came COVID.

In 2020, as the pandemic brought much of Australian retail to a standstill, PAS entered voluntary administration. Eric takes us inside that experience: the circumstances leading to the appointment of administrators, what the process looks like from the CEO's chair, the pressures on directors and management, the things he wasn't prepared for, and what he would do differently with the benefit of hindsight.

PAS's story didn't end there. The business was acquired by Larry Kestelman's LK Group, Eric continued as CEO, and PAS subsequently combined with Brand Collective, with Eric going on to lead the enlarged business.

Today, Eric has moved from the CEO's chair to the boardroom. Through Albany Advisory and his portfolio of board and advisory roles, he now brings the lessons of his operating career—including the difficult ones—to other businesses and their leaders.

We discuss:

• Eric's early career with Reebok, Disney and Myer
• Building Myer's private-label business
• How private equity approached the creation of PAS Group
• The acquisition strategy behind PAS's growth
• What makes a brand worth acquiring
• The economics of owned versus licensed brands
• Taking PAS Group public in 2014
• What happened when COVID hit Australian retail
• The reality of voluntary administration from a CEO's perspective
• The decisions Eric would make differently today
• What directors should understand before their company reaches a crisis
• Eric's transition from CEO to chairman, director and adviser
• The lessons he now applies when deciding whether to join a board
• 
  

It's a conversation about the successes that build a career—but also the setbacks that ultimately shape a leader.

DISCLAIMER

This podcast is provided for general information, education and entertainment purposes only. Nothing discussed in this episode constitutes, or should be relied upon as, legal, financial, investment, insolvency, accounting or other professional advice.The views, opinions and recollections expressed by the host and guest are their own and may be based on their personal experiences, perspectives and recollections of events. References to companies, individuals, transactions, financial performance, corporate restructurings or other events should not be taken as a complete or definitive account of those matters.

Circumstances surrounding corporate decisions, restructurings and insolvency appointments are often complex and may involve information that is confidential, contested or not publicly available. No adverse inference should be drawn about any individual or organisation from matters discussed in this episode.

Listeners should conduct their own enquiries and obtain appropriate independent professional advice before acting on anything discussed in this podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Country Rd & Witchery, to Topshop TopMan Australia, to Hudsons Bay, and now the Cotswold Outdoor Group, James H Stewart sits down with someone who is already a global retail veteran.

Jamie Kristow, is the CEO of Cotswold Outdoor Group, one of the UK's leading specialist outdoor retailers and home to brands including Cotswold Outdoor, Snow+Rock and Runners Need.

Jamie's career has spanned the UK, Australia, South Africa and Canada, with senior leadership roles at House of Fraser, Myer, Country Road Group, Witchery, Woolworths South Africa, Target Australia, Sportsgirl, Hudson's Bay Company and now Cotswold Outdoor Group.

Along the way, he has experienced retail booms, corporate turnarounds, international expansion, the collapse of Topshop Australia, the transformation of department stores and the reinvention of specialist retail in an increasingly digital world.

In this conversation, Jamie shares what he's learned from leading businesses through change, why physical stores remain critically important, and how data, retail media, artificial intelligence and customer experience are reshaping the future of retail.

We also explore the remarkable turnaround of Cotswold Outdoor Group following its 2019 Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), the impact of COVID on the business, and what it takes to grow a retailer that has survived multiple crises.

Whether you're a business owner, retailer, investor, director or simply fascinated by leadership and transformation, this episode is packed with practical insights from someone who has spent his career navigating change at the highest level.

• Jamie's international retail career across four countries

• Lessons from the collapse of Topshop Australia

• The turnaround and growth trajectory of Cotswold Outdoor Group

• Why physical stores still matter in an omnichannel world

• Retail media and the next generation of customer engagement

• AI, data and the future of retail

• Sustainability, premiumisation and changing consumer behaviour

• Leadership lessons from more than 30 years in retail

If you enjoy conversations about leadership, retail, strategy, private equity and business transformation, don't forget to follow the podcast and leave a review.

Connect with James Stewart

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-h-stewart-gaicd-83b46a9/

Website: https://jameshstewart.com

Disclaimer

The views expressed by guests on What I Learned in Business (That Didn't Kill Me!) are their own and are provided for general information and discussion purposes only. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the host and should not be relied upon as financial, legal, investment or professional advice. Listeners should seek independent professional advice before making decisions based on the matters discussed in this episode.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.